


My Lungs Burn with this Love I Feel

by Innocentfighter



Series: Lungs [3]
Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics)
Genre: Adopted Sibling Relationship, Batfamily Feels, Breaking and Entering, Brotherly Bonding, Canon Compliant, Canon-Typical Violence, Damian Wayne Needs a Hug, Damian Wayne is Robin, Damian Wayne-centric, Drowning, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Illnesses, Jason Todd is Red Hood, Lack of Communication, Medical Inaccuracies, Medical Procedures, Mild Language, POV Damian Wayne, Protective Damian Wayne, Scarecrow's Fear Toxin (DCU), Worried Damian, batfamily
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-03
Updated: 2018-09-03
Packaged: 2019-07-06 12:03:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,764
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15885651
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Innocentfighter/pseuds/Innocentfighter
Summary: Jason saved Damian but nearly dies in the process. Damian feels sort of responsible for making sure he stays alive. It's really not because he cares.





	My Lungs Burn with this Love I Feel

**Author's Note:**

> For those of you that wanted the Damian POV. Damian has no right to be such a challenge to write. Please enjoy!

Damian had never seen anyone drown before. He was fairly certain that was why he felt terror race up his back as the water reached Todd’s hip. The older male did nothing to try and stop his death. All things considered, he looked calm. Todd was never calm, he was always vibrating with an angry energy. Damian knew that it had to be bad if Todd wasn’t fighting anymore. The memory of him yelling for their captors to back off of him was fresh in Damian’s mind. _Had he used the last of his energy to keep them from injuring me?_

It was such a clear sign that Todd had deeper feelings for them than he let on that it knocked Damian off balance. He clenched his jaw, ignoring the pain on the side where the first (and only) strike from the pipe landed and pulled himself upwards. His legs wrapped around the rope holding him and he began to bite at the knot.

Their luck was shifting, Damian noted as the rope was more frayed than he initially thought. It wouldn’t have withstood much of the swaying that would have occurred if he had been beaten. The rope snapped after a few solid yanks and he fell to the floor silently. Quickly, he rolled to his feet and disappeared into the shadows.

The gang members made their exit. Clearly, they were confident that they had finished the Red Hood once and for all. Damian found a rusty piece of scrap metal and quickly sawed through bindings on his wrists. It struck him as odd that these people, that seemed prepared to handle Todd (who was well-trained) but would be careless to use something a faulty as old rope. Unless they wanted him to get loose? As far as he could see the oversight served no reason but to hinder their plans. He didn’t understand it and it frustrated him.

He bolted over to the case, noting with some alarm that the water had risen to mid-chest, “Hood!”

Thankfully, Todd seemed to have heard him, he tensed briefly before letting himself relax again.

Damian cursed, “Hood!”

Reaching the case he noted that it could only be opened from the inside, and an experimental tap on the glass proved that it was stronger than average. The water rose at a rapid rate, and one of the grunts had broken the valve, it was impossible to stop the water. Damian pressed his belt, sending out the distress signal. He banged his fist twice against the glass.

Getting no reaction from Todd, he pressed the belt again. He held a faint hope that it would make Batman and the others arrive sooner. Then he proceeded to beat against the glass once more. This time he was rewarded with a head turn, Damian would have preferred it if he could assess Todd’s condition through his eyes. At least he knew that the other hadn’t completely passed out.

His relief was short lived as Todd’s head tipped towards the water. Damian let out a frustrated growl and slammed his fist against the side of the case. He was rewarded with a slight crack. Nothing was leaking but it was a start. He scanned the area and spotted the forgotten pipe.

By the time he returned with the makeshift weapon, Todd’s head was already fully underwater, “Todd!”

The word left Damian’s lips before he could reassert his training. There was no one around that would care about the name, but it was careless. He prepared to swing at the crack before he was stopped in his tracks.

Todd thrashed in his bindings, and Damian could see that his mouth was opening, as if he was trying to reach air. Then suddenly all of the fighting stopped, and Jason stilled. Damian only belatedly realized he had shouted Jason’s name the entire time. Seeing no reaction, he swung the pipe against the side of the case.

Nothing seemed to disturb Todd, and Damian swung with all of the force he possessed. Eventually, he managed to make the crack larger. It wasn’t big enough to drain the water fast enough to actually lower the level of it while the water was still spraying. The water was also going hazy with red.

He swung harder, and the crack widened. Damian was only briefly aware of the sound of glass shattering overhead, as he tried to get Todd out. Rationally he realized that the older man had been underwater far longer than most people could survive. The thrashing he had done had likely been his last moments.

Damian refused to follow that train of thought further.

“Robin!”

Damian whirled around to face the speaker, only to be greeted by his older brothers’ faces. Nightwing’s face was pale, and he staggered towards the still form of Jason.

Red Robin, ever the calmer one of the family looked at Damian, “are you all right?”

“I’m fine. Nothing but bruises, but Hodd,” Damian looked over to the case, “he’s been under the water for several minutes.”

It bothered him that he couldn’t recall the exact amount of time the other had been under. It was vital information. The sound of glass shattering startled him, and he could see where Nightwing mirrored his actions from earlier, only with his escrima sticks and with more force than Damian could muster. Red Robin followed suit with his bo staff and soon enough the crack (more like a hole now) was big enough to drain water.

Father placed a hand on his shoulder, “what happened?”

“We were captured,” Damian replied shortly, watching as his two older brothers worked together to pull his other brother out from the water, “there was a sniper on the roof, that Hood was shot by, then in the confusion caused by the bullet we were taken by surprise.”

Batman hummed, and Damian knew that he should worry about the punishment he was going to face for disobeying orders and that action ending with a dead son.

Nightwing had managed to lay Todd flat and Red Robin was checking vitals, growing more and more frantic as he tapped the readout on his glove screen harshly.

“Red Robin?” Father asked, and Damian looked up only to see that father appeared to be in a state of shock.

“He has no respiration rate or heart rate. His body temperature is well below-”

“He’s not dead yet,” and Nightwing was pushing down on Red Hood’s chest with a determined look.

Damian hadn’t ever seen his brothers look like that. Not even when they were fighting. Grayson was quick and sure in his compressions, and Drake relayed periodic updates that all consisted of nothing. Something twisted in his chest, and for a second he thought that he had missed an injury, but no it was an emotion he couldn’t name as they approached the two and a half minute mark of Todd not having any indication of life.

Grayson was muttering the entire time, “breathe.”

“Jay, breathe,” Grayson begged after mouth-to-mouth.

“Just breathe, please,” Grayson pleaded at two minutes and forty seconds.

“Hood. You are not allowed to die,” Damian found himself saying, he didn’t want to contemplate what it would mean for his family if Todd died (again).

“Breathe. Breathe. Breathe.” Grayson repeated in time with his compressions.

“I can’t lose you again. I just got you back,” Damian whipped his head around to stare at his _father_ , who at some point had sunk down on his knees to maybe treat some of Todd’s lesser injuries.

Then, a miracle if Damian were to believe in those, Jason arched upwards with a loud cough, and he opened his eyes. There was no recognition in them, they were wild and frantic and flicked from everyone’s face. It was almost as if he was looking for something. Damian didn’t have enough faith to say that Todd had the ability to comprehend what he was even seeing.

Damian was proven wrong as Father leaned over, to maybe help calm Todd down before he injured himself further. Todd’s frantic searching stopped, his tense body just relaxed.

“Dad-”

It seemed as if all of the air was taken out of the room. Todd had never been so vocal about his place in the family. Then his eyes closed and Drake let out a pained noise. Damian’s eyes flicked over to his brother and saw the familiar screen indicating a lack of vitals. _Had Todd just made sure that father had come?_

“We have to get him to Leslie.”

Batman pulled Todd into his arms and headed towards where he presumably parked the Batmobile. Grayson followed barely a step behind, craning his neck to keep an eye on Todd. Damian jumped as Drake put a hand on his shoulder.

“Come on,” he said.

“Todd won’t survive, will he?”

Drake was pale (more so than usual) under the mask, his lips twisted. Damian noted with some confusion there were tears,

“I hope that I’m wrong but I think it’s already too late.”

“Father won’t believe that, neither does Grayson,” Damian replied with conviction. As if those two believed something was so then it would be.

“… Jay has come back to us before.”

Damian wanted to point out that it was to kill them and it was thanks to the interference of the Lazarus pit but kept his mouth shut. Some wounds didn’t need salt rubbed in them.

Grayson had already situated himself in the backseat by Todd’s head. Drake climbed in on the other side and pulled Todd’s legs into his lap. Damian, hesitated, before climbing into the backseat as well and wedging himself on the floor with his back pressed uncomfortably against the seat.

He reached out for Todd’s hand and squeezed tightly. Maybe he could have the same faith as his father and Grayson.

Damian would never be sure how it happened, but as he pulled Todd’s arm towards him, Todd coughed. He made an odd hiccupping sound, and while the breaths were uneven and shallow, they were there.

Grayson was openly crying now but his hand never faltered as he carded through Jason’s hair. Although Grayson’s other hand pressed against his eyes. Damian could only focus on the painful sounding breathing of his brother. Thankful that he was able to hear it again.

After the initial shock died down he glanced at Drake who was monitoring Todd’s vital’s again.

Damian wasn’t sure what Father was doing other than driving. He twisted uncomfortably in his spot to see the grim set of Father’s jaw, but the cowl kept Damian from seeing anything more than that.

* * *

He didn’t like waiting rooms, they lived up to their name, however. Damian had been kept from going to surgery with Father and Grayson. Drake had taken him to an examination room, which had kept him distracted because of his annoyance with the older Robin, but now that he had been cleared there was nothing more to do than wait.

“If there’s any way to save him, they’ll come up with it,” Drake reassured him suddenly.

“I do not doubt that,” Damian replied shortly.

Drake rolled his eyes, their masks long since discarded in the empty clinic, “right, how foolish of me to think that you have emotions about witnessing your brother drown.”

Damian scowled. That was not his problem, risks were a part of the job, it was the waiting and not knowing how Todd was. It was a weakness he feared that he would get once he saw how large his father’s family truly was. Talia had cared for him but did not show it as often or deeply as Father. He still didn’t understand how any of his siblings could think that father did not care for them.

… Maybe it was because Father didn’t show it enough for their standards?

He shoved the thought away and instead moved to the floor to work through breathing exercises. They didn’t calm him like they usually did. Grayson pushed open the door, silent and exhausted but his shoulders were dropped in relief.

“He’s stable,” Grayson said, just loud enough to be heard.

Drake whipped his head up, “and the prognosis?”

“Providing he makes it through the night and wakes up relatively soon, a full recovery,” Grayson replied, “although it’ll be months of physical therapy.”

Damian frowned and tried to recall any injuries that would require that much aftercare, “his leg?”

Grayson furrowed his brow, “yeah, his femur was broken in two places.”

Drake winced but otherwise remained quiet. Damian frowned at him, he would have expected that the other would show more signs of visible relief that his brother was fine like Grayson did.

“You can come back and see him,” Grayson said.

“Are we going to have to leave?” Drake tilted his head.

“Not tonight,” Grayson replied grimly

Damian pursed his lips, he knew that typically only one person could stay the night, which meant that Dr.Tompkins was making an exception. He guessed that meant that Todd was in a bad state, and that he wasn’t likely to make it through the night and that this would be easier on the family. It wouldn’t be, Father didn’t need to see his second son die, none of them needed to see a family member die like that. Not in the line of battle but as a result of it.

In some ways, Father had been spared with Jason’s first death. Damian shook his head, remembering that one of the older assassins had told him thinking bad thoughts tended to invite them and considering how things had been going, he was likely to believe that the unlikely was happening tonight.

He and Drake followed Grayson back to the room. The clinic was uncomfortably silent, and Damian walked closer to Grayson than he usually would have. Todd’s room was in the most defensible part of the clinic, which was relieving incase Black Mask learned of Todd’s survival and decided to finish the job. He also remembered the women’s words about overhearing about Todd’s condition in the clinic, he would need to mention that to father.

His life so far had not given him time to be squeamish, everything was a part of life, blood and injuries included but Damian still wasn’t prepared to see Todd of all people hooked up to several machines and almost paler than Drake. Even in fighting for his life Todd had movement, him being so still sent Damian’s mind back when he was trapped in the box. It made him uncomfortable but he tried to not let it show in his body language. Not that anyone was paying him any attention, Grayson was back at Jason’s side and cooed words of comfort and Drake was reading the medical chart. Father’s back was rigid and he was focused on Todd’s chest as it rose and fell.

Damian wasn’t sure what to do with himself so he claimed one of the abandoned chairs and squirmed in it until he was comfortable. While his family was distracted by Todd’s current condition he would make sure to keep watch and be on alert for anything odd. After several minutes everyone settled down, Damian let his guard drop some, now that the biggest distraction had been acclimated to the others should have their situational awareness back. He tried to ignore the thought that he wanted to be nearer to the group, who had all crowded around Todd’s bed, but he had chosen this spot for its tactical positioning.

At some point, he fell asleep.

The dream clung to him as he awoke. Damian couldn’t remember what it was about in its entirety, but he remembered that Todd had died in it. His escape wasn’t fast enough and Father hadn’t arrived soon enough to pull Todd from the water. It to him a second as he reoriented himself in the room. Todd’s heart monitor was steady and the others were asleep, except for Father who had apparently stepped out.

He adjusted himself in his chair, Todd was alive the sky outside had lightened into the early morning. The second son would live to fight another day. It should have been enough for Damian to relax back into sleep. Several minutes later, Damian was still wide awake and annoyed, this shouldn’t be an issue for him and his breathing exercises weren’t working.

Grayson’s words about seeking physical comfort rattled in his head. At the time he had scoffed at the thought, but through experience, he had learned that a _hug_ could help after a particularly bad night, but no one was around to provide him that comfort. There was an empty spot on Todd’s bed, and in theory being near to the source of his nightmares might keep them away. Damian shook his head. There was no way he would be caught _cuddling_ Todd of all people.

Several more minutes passed, and he could tell that his body wanted to sleep, but his mind had started to turn over the image of Todd struggling and then going slack. Damian let out a long breath from his nose, Father was still strangely absent and the others were still asleep. Grayson wouldn’t tease him about the weakness, and while Drake might he tended to move on to other things quick enough.

Damian hesitated for a minute more but moved when he heard the monitor skip a beat of Todd’s heart. He knew logically that if it only occurred rarely it was nothing to be concerned about but he was already halfway to the bed. Carefully he jumped onto the bed and then edged his way towards the empty spot along Todd’s side. It would pin him between the bed and Todd’s body, but he doubted that he was in any danger considering Grayson was right next to the side of his bed. If Todd had a bad reaction to almost dying again, there would be other issues to worry about a bruise from Damian being weak.

He settled into the spot and was pleasantly surprised to find that Todd was warm but he smelled too clean and there was just a hint of cigarette smoke that lingered. Damian found that he got used to the scent quick enough and he felt drowsy after only being there for a couple of minutes. It had to be because his mind reacted to the thought that Todd had died to protect him and the constant reassurance of Todd’s heartbeat made the thoughts bearable. He wouldn’t believe that it was because he had been scared for Todd, he’d never been scared for anyone save Grayson one time.

Damian moved so that he was holding Todd’s shirt and fell asleep.

* * *

Drake kept glancing at him from the passenger seat. Damian scowled at him and kept his eyes fixated on the buildings outside of the window. He knew it was because he was not acting himself, but he couldn’t seem to change the behavior. As soon as he returned to the manor, he asked Pennyworth if there had been any change to Todd’s condition. By all technicalities, Todd was in a coma, and even Damian knew that the longer he stayed unconscious the more likely there was significant brain trauma and the less likely it would be that Todd would wake up.

Why anyone thought that he could focus in school when Todd’s future was so uncertain he didn’t know. Father had requested it so he had gone. It made him twitchy to not know things, and he needed to know if it was his errors that would lead Todd to a more finalized death.

Pennyworth parked in the clinic’s lot but Damian was already out of the car before it stopped moving. Drake was only seconds behind him. He heard Pennyworth make a comment about the patience of teenagers. Damian would be offended at being lumped into a category with Drake any other day, but today he didn’t want to push his luck. Pennyworth might have the power to revoke him from visiting and Damian didn’t want to risk sneaking out again. Mostly because he hadn’t been punished for this time with everything that happened. Grayson wouldn’t be so distracted by Todd to let the second time go.

The receptionist glanced at them when they entered but just gestured for them to head back. Drake nodded his thanks and somehow got in front of Damian, who scowled but was unable to step in front without causing a seen.

Down the hallway, Grayson was leaning against the doorframe. Damian noted that his body was tensed and the set to his shoulders indicated that he was upset. He was talking though and didn’t seem to be mourning. Drake increased his stride, which left Damian behind. He quickly increased his stride.

“Jason!” Drake greeted cheerfully.

Damian frowned if Todd was awake and not (miraculously) brain damaged it made no sense for Grayson to be so visibly emotional. Unless it was another conversation that Todd was having. Father could be in the room, and he knew the relationship between Todd and him was strained. Another family fight at this current time would be… unwise. Drake must have guessed at this as well which is why he reacted in the way that he did. For once, Damian was keen to copy Drake.

“Has he awoken?”

He pushed past Grayson and Drake directly into Jason’s line of sight. Their eyes met and Damian saw that they were wary but relieved. Todd looked exhausted despite having slept for several days, but it was worlds of improvement from the last time that Damian saw Todd awake. He hesitated for only a brief second before he returned to the spot he had claimed for his own two nights previously.

Next to him, Todd tensed before he relaxed and Damian felt fingers curl into his side. He settled once he was sure that Todd wasn’t going to throw him out of the bed. Truthfully, he wasn’t sure why he wanted to be here. When Todd was asleep Damian reasoned it was because he looked nearly identical to being dead, so his brain took comfort from feeling the signs of Todd’s life. It could be comforting himself to know that Todd hadn’t suffered any lasting damage.

“Master Timothy, Master Damian, there was no need to rush,” a third voice called from the hallway.

Damian pushed against Todd’s side and observed the two other members in the room. Grayson grinned stupidly, and Damian knew he was going to be praised on “acting like you’re not a baby assassin.” Father’s face was blank, with long slow blinks. Damian couldn’t sense any hostility, but it confused him. Surely father was used to him in Todd’s bed since he rarely left it during his visits.

“Ah, Jason,” Damian looked from father to Dr. Thompkins.

Against his side, Todd suddenly went rigid. Damian flicked his eyes to Jason’s face, his eyes darted around and there was a blank expression on his face. Compared to father’s, Damian knew that this was purposeful, something had set Todd off. Damian hadn’t noticed any threats, and he doubted Dr. Thompkins counts as one. Likely Todd was experiencing a flashback, and it may devolve into a panic attack. 

She smiled, “glad to see you’re awake. Now that you won’t pass out in two minutes, I need to ask you questions.”

Impossibly Todd’s side grew tenser.

“The rest of you clear out for a while.”

Todd deflated. Damian didn’t feel comfortable in leaving, nor did the others but they hadn’t noticed how badly Todd had been reacting to something. So, instead, he pressed himself harder against Todd. A twist with his hands and a slight pressing of his nose to Todd’s ribcage. He was uncertain of what threat Todd had faced in his head, but he was unwilling to leave Todd alone with someone who could have possibly been the trigger. If he needed to act clingy to achieve that goal, well, it didn’t fall out of line with his personality these past few days.

“Demon Spawn can stay,” Damian felt the rumble of his chest, and he kept his act up, “he can help fill in the details.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Damian could see Pennyworth quietly closing the door and Dr. Thompkins smiling indulgently. She likely didn’t believe Todd’s words, and Damian had no idea the actual reasoning behind Todd’s permission of him to stay.

“A dislocated shoulder, a punctured lung, a ruptured kidney, a fractured femur, broken ribs,” she began to read, “extensive internal bleeding, fluid in the lungs, and hypoxia.”

Damian knew all of that but still felt a twist of something when he heard it read out so clinically.

Todd winced, but Dr. Thompkins read on, “did I mention how badly your lungs are compromised now? There’s a very real chance your pneumonia could return.”

Damian perked up at that information. He hadn’t known that there was a problem with Todd prior to this. It did make sense why his breathing had sounded off that night. It also explained why he hadn’t been active on patrol. This time when Damian curled into him it was instinctual.

“Well, I wasn’t exactly planning on drowning,” Todd mumbled.

He held back a snort, fully aware of the reaction that would get him.

“I see the brain damage is minimal, which is a miracle of miracles, on top of CPR actually restoring your heart rate after being clinically dead for 8 minutes.”

Todd glanced away, almost like he was ashamed of something. Damian noticed something flash across Dr. Thompkins face as if there was something else on the private chart that no one else knew about but her and Todd. _Maybe I should steal it? It might be important information for later._

“Why were you even on patrol? You had only just finished the antibiotics. Even before this, you didn’t have full capacity.”

“Sorry.”

Damian whipped his head up. There was nothing indicating that the word was false. Todd rarely apologized, if he ever had. Clearly, something had changed in the past three days and Damian couldn’t figure out what.

“I’m not the one that you have to apologize to,” Dr. Leslie said, “I was only telling you the risks and consequences of your actions. I doubt you’ll have full lung capacity again.”

“I’ll stop smoking,” Todd replied quietly.

Damian raised an eyebrow. He felt himself checking Todd’s eyes for anything less than full alertness. None of this sounded like the Todd he had grown to know. The one that Father had warned him away from because even Father wasn’t sure he could beat if Todd was only more dedicated to the cause.

“That’s a start,” Dr. Thompkins nodded, “now how are you feeling?”

Todd was quiet for a second, “my chest is a little tight. Deep breaths hurt, can’t say I’m in any pain.”

“Good, it’s very impressive considering Dick had to break ribs.”

Damian held back the wince when he remembered the sharp popping sound. At the time he had been to distracted by everything to notice it, but that sound has been recurring in his nightmares.

Dr. Thompkins made a few more notes on her clipboard, “I want to keep you here for a couple of days to watch your O2 sat. and make sure that your pneumonia doesn’t make a return visit. After that, you are to stay with someone while the rest of your injuries recover. You may need oxygen going home, at least until we determine the extent of the damage.”

Todd nodded, “can you wait a couple of minutes before sending everyone in? I haven’t been alone since I started regaining consciousness.”

Dr. Thompkins smiled and left the room. Damian felt Todd breathe deeply, and that’s when all of the feelings Damian has been trying to shove away came back. He glared at the older male.

Todd raised an eyebrow, “why are you glaring at me?”

_The audacity._ Damian pushed himself away from Todd so that he could be in the best position for this. He mourned the loss of warmth but this was more important, “I find encouraging your own demise is a waste of time and energy and recommend you cease this action.”

This entire situation went beyond a bad night. Damian knew bad nights, but this had been more than that. It almost seemed like Todd didn’t care that he was risking his life by being stubborn, it was like he didn’t know the damage his death would cause to everyone in this family by dying again.

“It almost sounds like you care,” there was a teasing lilt to Todd’s voice.

Damian frowned, he hadn’t meant to tip his hand. He didn’t care about Todd, at least not as much as Father and Grayson, but he minded him more than he did the average person. He wasn’t sure how to make that point to Todd without it coming across as a false reflection of his feelings.

“I am relieved that you did not die,” that part was honest and he hoped comforting, “Father and Grayson would not have recovered, and Drake would have been even more insufferable.”

Todd smirked, “it’ll take a lot more than water to take me down.”

He mirrored the eyebrow raise from earlier, Todd was testing his patience, “you were clinically dead for eight minutes, or did you not understand that?”

“No,” the smirk fell from his face, which became that scary blank it was earlier, “guess I’m going back to being the dead robin.”

For the first time, he realized how difficult it was to talk with Todd. Why Grayson always seemed exhausted and why father couldn’t stop himself from reacting to what was said. Todd was very good at saying things that hurt.

“Todd!” He snapped, “do not treat your existence lightly. Your life carries more weight than you would like to think.”

Things were too close to the surface. Damian wanted to leave and have Todd throw himself on the hill he wanted to die on, but flashes of him thrashing in the water returned. He hated that he suddenly cared so much about family. If he left, then he was sure Todd would take that as the final severance of ties. He didn’t trust that his older brother wouldn’t react disproportionately and truly get himself killed. Instead, he moved back to his spot against Todd’s side.

The muscles were tense, but not as much as they had been and he doubted Todd truly relaxed.

“Did you speak truthfully when you said you would stop smoking?” It was a strange concession to make.

Todd didn’t say anything, and Damian thought that he may have overstepped a line previously, “yeah, I only started because it pissed Bruce off so much.”

“I do not understand you,” Damian furrowed his brows. What benefit did it bring to piss father off at the cost of your life?

There was a deep rumble from Todd’s chest and Damian realized he had laughed, “not many people do, Demon Spawn.”

Damian scrunched up his face, “no, your behavior is such that father should hate you, which you appear to strive for, and yet when you were dying you called for him.”

Todd’s face returned to the blank state, Damian was beginning to recognize it as a protection mechanism rather than a threat. He didn’t know why, but he felt Todd’s core and legs tense. He glared at his brother and hoped it was enough that he aborted that train of thought. Whatever his plan was.

He smirked when Todd backed down with a scowl on his face.

The family rejoined them only a couple of minutes later. His spot against Jason’s side let him adjust the conversation whenever he felt his brother’s ribs jump. It was one of their better times together. Damian wondered if anyone else knew how much Jason’s body gives away.

* * *

Damian dodged another one of  Scarecrow’s darts. They’re shaped like his usual straw vials, but as he learned very early on, the fear toxin was incredibly potent. He glanced over to where Grayson was fighting off Scarecrow’s lackeys, but his mind clearly was elsewhere.

“No. No. No. Don’t fall. Don’t fall. Jay, don't fall.”

Father wasn’t in much better shape. Damian flipped over Scarecrow and landed neatly behind him. Two more straw projectiles flashed towards him, he cut them with his sword before he realized his mistake. He launched himself down towards a balcony on the building, as he tucked into his roll he came down hard on his shoulder. It stung but it was a better fate than breathing in the toxin. Safely away from Scarecrow, for the time being, Damian’s attention turned back to father.

Again, he seemed aware that there was a threat but he seemed unfocused and panicking.

“Hold on Jay. I’m coming. Hold on. Hold on!”

Damian started to slowly scale the building again. Grayson’s agitation was becoming clear as his takedown of the lackeys were becoming more violent. Those men were starting to be permanently injured. Usually, Damian didn’t care, but he knew Grayson would tear himself up over it. He was also sure that the toxin was only so potent because they had nearly lost Todd only a couple of days ago. They were already afraid.

At least they had known what they were going into or thought they had.

He pulled himself over the edge only to have Scarecrow rush him. A Batarang was sticking out of his arm, it was enough to trigger Scarecrow’s monstrous form. Damian ducked under the wide swing and rolled so that his kick landed in the weak part of the knee.

Scarecrow stumbled but spun around and nearly caught Damian with his claws. Damian backflipped and used the momentum to change his positioning so that he landed next to the sword he had forgotten in his haste to get away from the gas. Damian dropped low and pulled out the rebreather from a compartment on his belt. He probably had already been exposed to the gas, but he was sure that the antidote they had all dosed themselves with earlier covered this formula.

It didn’t explain why Batman and Nightwing were under its effects, and Damian could only hope that Red Robin had managed to avoid being dosed by it as well. Scarecrow took advantage of his hesitation and rushed him, only to be shoved back when Red Robin kicked him soundly in the chest.

“I had this handled,” Damian snarled through the rebreather.

Red Robin tilted his head towards him, “sure, I’m just helping. Nightwing and Batman are basically out of this fight. I’d never thought I would be grateful for extras.”

Damian nodded, neither Nightwing or Batman would be able to take on monster Scarecrow and walk away mostly unharmed. Right now they ran the risk of the fear toxin being in their systems too long and them dying from heart attacks.

“Red Robin, come in?” Oracle's voice suddenly spoke.

“What’s up?” Red Robin spun his staff into the way of Scarecrows incoming claws.

Damian took advantage of that opening and tossed several low impact explosives towards the exposed chest.

“Has the antidote done anything?”

Red Robin glanced towards where Batman was still beating lackeys with viciousness he usually saved for Joker, “if it did, it’s only mitigated the effects.”

Damian heard Oracle repeat the information. He glanced at Red Robin.

“Who is she talking to?”

“Maybe the league? Or Dr. T?” Red shrugged and jumped out of the way of the blast.

Scarecrow was slowly picking himself back up.

There was a sudden rush of typing. Damian frowned and raised his sword in preparation for Scarecrow’s rush attack. Somedays it was a blessing that their rogues were so predictable.

“Can you guys hold out a few minutes?” Oracle asked, “I might be getting valuable information.”

Red Robin nodded before responding, “affirmative.”

The waited a beat and Scarecrow was standing once again.

“Red Hood says that the toxin is mixed with Bane’s venom,” Oracle returned.

Damian ran and jumped onto the charing Scarecrow before pushing off of him into the air and throwing several Batarangs. Red Robin just dodged the attack.

“Bane’s venom? How would he know that?” Red Robin wondered out loud, “but that could be why the antidote didn’t work.”

“How so?” Damian snorted as he watched Scarecrow wheel around for a second pass.

“The venom speeds up the metabolism, but if it’s been formulated to the fear toxin, it might let the toxin work but burn off anything else. Kind of like a lowgrade fever.”

Damian raised an eyebrow, it was possible that the two rogues were working together but it seemed odd Father wouldn’t warn them of this, but it was odder to think that these rogues had managed to slip something by Batman.

“Does Hood know how to counter it?”

Oracle's voice was muffled, “he says to either try the counter the venom or heavy sedatives.”

Red Robin nodded, but before he could respond Scarecrow rushed him directly. He was too close to either edge to jump out of the way and he wouldn’t have enough momentum to vault Scarecrow. Damian readied his grappling hook, it would damage Red Robin, but it was better than him breaking his neck because he was bull rushed off of a building. The charge was stopped midstride as some sort of gel erupted from an arrow in the roof.

Arsenal jumped down from the water tower. Damian was impressed and disappointed that he hadn’t noticed the archer.

“I’ll try the sedatives. I don’t have anything for bane.”

“Roger.”

“I’ll keep an eye on creepy,” Arsenal gestured towards Scarecrow, “go do your bat-thing.”

Damian watched Arsenal shoot one more arrow directly into Scarecrows chest and seconds later the monster was tipping backward held in place by the gel. Batman and Nightwing were down to two opponents each. Red Robin held up his hand.

“We’ll sedate them at the same time, less of a chance of increasing their fear seeing the other go down.”

“Understood,” Damian pulled out the sedative syringe.

“I’ll handle Batman.”

“Roger,” Damian repeated.

He watched as Red Robin counted down to zero using his hand and then jumped towards his older brother. Predictably Grayson countered with a tricky acrobatic maneuver, but that’s why Damian had been counting on. At the height of his arc, Damian shoved the syringe into Nightwing’s thigh. He landed in a graceless heap, that any other time would have been hilarious.

Red Robin dropped Batman two seconds later once the man was distracted by the lack of Nightwing fighting.

“I thought you said you weren’t going to make the effects worse.”

“It distracted him,” Red Robin shrugged, “it was for the greater good.”

Damian didn’t feel convinced, but he dropped the conversation. They needed to get Nightwing and Batman back to the cave.

“I’ll call Dr. Thompkins and the batplane,” Red Robin said, “help Arsenal with Scarecrow and make sure he doesn’t get arrested.”

* * *

Damian trailed behind Drake, who despite being in casual clothing was radiating the aura of Red Robin. This was the fourth safehouse of Red Hood that they had ransacked in search of the wayward vigilante. They only knew of six in the city.

“Where did he go?”  Drake asked the room.

“Perhaps he left the city,” Damian shrugged, sniffing at a strange wax cube, “perhaps the argument he had with father the day he woke up was more than everyone thought it was.”

Drake shook his head, “he doesn’t leave Gotham unless he has to or he’s with the…”

Damian rolled his eyes when he heard Drake trail off. He turned to look at his brother who seemed to be having an epiphany.

“The Outlaws!” Drake shouted, “you did put a tracker on Arsenal right?”

“Of course I did,” Damian replied, “Father said it was a favor for Green Arrow.”

Drake shrugged, “I still can’t believe Bruce didn’t warn him about approaching his estranged son out of the blue.”

“Father doesn’t like Green Arrow,” Damian replied, “but what about Arsenal?”

“Seems weird that he showed up when he did,” Drake explained, “and he’s gone back underground since then.”

“You think he knows something of Todd?”

“They are best friends,” Drake replied, “besides, it’s not like it’s going to hurt the investigation any.”

Damian nodded and followed Drake out of the building. Drake pulled up the tracker on his phone, “huh, he’s only two blocks away.”

They started to make their way towards Arsenal’s location. Damian glanced back at the safe house. He didn’t understand how Todd, as heavily injured as he was could have somehow left the clinic in the time between him leaving the room and them calling for help with the Fear Toxin. It could have been the strange feeling he got from Todd, the one that told him that Todd didn’t feel overly safe.

It had also been difficult with getting Grayson and father to rest when they were told that Todd was currently unaccounted for. Something that he had been planning on putting off, but Grayson, of course, had asked Dr. Thompkins about his brother and she hadn’t lied. Damian couldn’t blame her for that, but that at the same time he wishes she would have come up with something more creative because the toxin was now lingering in their body. Unable to be fully processed until the fear was gone.

Damian huffed which caused Tim to glance over at him.

“Everything all right?”

“As it can be,” Damian replied honestly, “once we find Todd and calm father and Grayson down-”

Tim didn’t’ say anything to him not finishing the thought. There were too many variables to consider to say anything definitive. Damian scowled at nothing, families were more difficult than he imagined they are. He was also worried about Todd, and perhaps more so than the others because he knew how badly damaged Todd’s lungs were. He didn’t have the oxygen that Dr. Thompkins recommended, which meant if his lungs gave out no one would know.

Damian shook his head, there was no point in dwelling on extremes. They were bats, they were trained to handle the extreme.

“This is the place,” Tim gestures towards a run-down apartment complex.

“Surely you must be kidding?” Damian scrunched his nose.

“No,” Tim sighed, “not everyone is a Wayne heir.”

“That means nothing, Todd lives in similar places,” Damian snarked.

Tim rolled his eyes and entered the building. There was no one at the entrance desk, but there were sounds of thudding coming from a back room. Damian narrowed his eyes in that direction and Tim quickly steered him towards the stairs. If Harper had any sense he would get a room on the top floor, it would make it easier to sneak out for his night job.

There were only four rooms on the top floor, and only one had the sound of a crying child. Damian briskly walked to that one and knocked on the door. Tim hovered behind him.

“I don’t want to buy what you’re selling.”

“We are not selling anything Harper!” Damian responded, his patience was already thin.

Drake pulled him away from the door, “please, we can’t find Jason.”

A minute passed, and then the deadbolt clicked open. Roy stepped into the hallway, Lian was whining in his grasp. Damian noted how tired he looked, and then made a face at the toddler. Lian suddenly started babbling at him.

Harper looked annoyed for a second, “oh sure, you like _him_ but not the guy who feeds you.”

Drake looked like he wanted to be anywhere else, “where’s Jason?”

“How should I know?” Harper shrugged, “if he didn’t tell you he didn’t want to be found.”

“We can’t get ahold of him,” Drake said.

Harper shrugged again, “like I said.”

Damian stepped forward, “this could be a medical emergency, Harper.”

That did make something shift on Harper’s face, “how can you know that?”

“We don’t,” Damian shrugged, “but due to his injuries it is likely.”

“Listen, I would help you, but he explicitly told me not to tell you,” Harper replied, “and I won’t unless it’s a medical emergency that you can prove.”

Damian growled in his throat, the show of loyalty was respectable but right now he just wanted to find his brother, “he left the clinic before he was cleared. His lungs were heavily damaged, enough that he was recommended oxygen until they healed.”

It wasn’t exactly the truth. Dr. Thompkins only said it was a possibility.

“He could suffocate, but be unable to call for help,” Damian finished, holding eye contact with the archer.

Harper held it for four seconds before the baby started squirming again, “fine. Give me two minutes.”

Harper vanished into the apartment and returned one minute and seventeen seconds later (Damian counted because he was bored) with a scrap of paper, “here. If he shoots you, tell Batman it wasn’t my fault.”

Drake took the paper, “thank you.”

“Sure,” Harper shifted the baby to his other side, “I hope this is just a waste of time for you.”

Damian tilted his head and then realized that Harper was saying that he hoped Todd was okay. He wished that people would say what they mean, then he shook his head, that would be too many emotions to deal with on a regular basis. Grayson was enough. Harper waved to them before he vanished back in his apartment.

“Bludhaven,” Drake commented, “Dick would be happy.”

“Why?”

“Because that means Jason likes him enough again to help watch his city while Nightwing runs with the Bats.”

“If anyone was listening you would have given away all of our identities,” Damian sniffed.

Tim pursed his lips, “you get snappy when you’re worried.”

“I do not,” Damian glowered, “I am not worried. It is annoying that we must babysit an adult.”

“Sure you are,” Tim chuckled, “don’t worry, I’ll only tell Dick when you’re being especially insufferable.”

Damian really wanted to punch that smug look off of Drake’s face.

* * *

He didn’t like the air around Todd’s apartment building. Damian glanced at Drake and saw the same wary expression.

“Maybe it’s just a den of thieves,” Drake remarked dryly.

Damian snorted, “they would be very stupid to live together like this.”

“Bludhaven and Gotham aren't exactly known for their intelligent criminal underworld.”

That made Damian smirk. They entered the building, this time the desk clerk was actually at the desk. She looked up and frowned when she saw who had entered.

“If you don’t tell anyone we were here, I’ll give you two hundred dollars,” Drake smiled blithely.

She nodded and as soon as Drake slid the money towards her, she tucked it away and dropped below the desk as if she had to do something there. Damian always wondered why people felt like they had to act to prove that they would keep their end of the deal. It wasn’t like anyone would believe the receptionist that two Wayne heirs had wandered into the lower ends of Bludhaven.

Drake was just overly paranoid in Damian’s opinion, but it wasn’t like they had the money to spare. He watched as the older male checked the paper, and then headed towards the steps. Damian stole a glance at the paper and saw that yet again they were walking to the top floor. If anyone wanted to take out the Outlaws, it would be incredibly easy with how predictable they were. It’d be safer for Todd if he returned to the manor.

He supposed he could get used to another older brother making a nuisance of themselves.

Once they reached the correct apartment, Drake banged on the door. After a few minutes of no sounds, he knocked again but louder. Damian sniffed the air, there was nothing to indicate a decaying body or an attack. The third time Drake knocked Damian just moved to pick the lock. Except the door wasn’t locked. Damian glanced to Drake whose face had shifted into concern. A quick check told them that nothing had damaged the door.

Something was wrong, Todd never forgot to lock the door, he was practically fanatical about it. Not that Damian could blame him, he knew how the League liked its surprise examinations.

Drake took point as they entered the apartment Damian stepped in after him. A hand gesture sent him towards the living room, while Drake veered left towards the (assumedly) bedroom. The second he cleared the wall around the entryway, he lost all sense of remaining stealthy. Todd was a crumpled heap on the floor, Damian heard labored breathing, so he wasn’t dead.

“Drake!” Damian yelled as he slid to a stop next to Todd.

Without touching him he could see the flush of fever and a pained expression on Todd’s face. Drake ran into the room and crouched down next to him. He quickly did a physical.

“His fever is really high,” Drake muttered, “call Alfred, I’m going to try and cool him down.”

Damian nodded, he didn’t even think to argue. He yanked out his phone.

“Master Damian, any luck?” Pennyworth greeted casually but there was a hint of curiosity.

“Yes,” he replied, “we need you to come, and bring Dr. Thompkins if you can.”

“Whatever for?”

He frowned at the question before he realized that he must be near either father or Grayson, “he has a fever that appears to be dangerously high.”

“I will be there shortly,” Pennyworth said.

“Tell him to lock onto my tracker!”

“Drake’s tracker is active,” Damian repeated.

Todd stirred briefly, a glassy teal eye opened but they didn’t focus on anything. Damian shifted directly into his line of sight, but there was no reaction. Moments later Todd had fallen limp again. _He’s not close to lucid, the fever must be very high._ The problem, Damian decided, was that they had no idea how long Todd had the fever. There were many complications they had to worry about.

Drake rushed back into the room, he had two ice packs and a box of frozen waffles. Damian tilted his head, and watch as Drake placed the ice packs on the back of Todd’s neck and along with his groin. The waffles went against his wrists and armpits. He was surprised Drake had thought of that. Damian certainly wouldn’t have. Although he wasn’t entirely sure that they were going to do anything, he supposed it was better than nothing.

_I must ask Pennyworth to train me in field aid more rigorously._

He noticed Todd’s hair was curled, but there was no indication of sweat, “he’s dehydrated.”

Drake glanced, “shit. He must have had this fever for at least a day.”

Damian stood up and headed back towards the other rooms. He opened the first door and saw that it was a small room, that appeared to be an office. It was strange to see how orderly it was, more so than Father’s, but it wasn’t what he was looking for. He closed the door and headed towards the next door. This one was the bathroom, he grabbed several washcloths. They were cheap and rough, like hotel rags, but he quickly wet them with cool water and grabbed the cup on the sink and filled that.

Drake adjusted the ice packs and glanced at him as he entered. Damian held up the rags and Drake nodded. They worked in silence as the placed the rags in the few places not covered by the ice packs, and replaced the waffles.

Several minutes later, the door opened. Damian leaped to his feet, but relaxed when he saw that it was Pennyworth and Dr. Thompkins who was already carrying an IV stand and bags. She cursed softly when she saw Todd. Pennyworth, to his credit, only raised an eyebrow at the single remaining waffle on Todd’s wrist which was mostly thawed.

Dr. Thompkins worked efficiently in setting up the IV, and then she moved onto the physical. Damian glanced at the thermometer and watched it jump from RDY to 100 degrees and then watched it climb. By the time the thirty seconds were up, it read as 104.7.

“We need to get him back to the medical bay,” Dr. Thompkins said, “it has the same equipment, but maybe he won’t try and escape.”

Drake winced, but Damian secretly agreed. The cave or the manor wasn't placed Todd felt comfortable in, but they were less threatening than the clinic. Although, he supposed the problem now was transporting him. Neither Damian or Drake could carry Todd like father could, and their leverage would be off because of the height difference between them. Pennyworth and Drake could probably carry him if Pennyworth could support half of Todd’s weight. He also didn’t want to jostle the leg too much.

A stretcher would have been ideal.

“Any chance you brought a stretcher?” Drake asked Pennyworth.

“Unfortunately, it wouldn’t fit in the town car,” Pennyworth replied.

“We could use a bedsheet, like a hammock?” Damian made it sound as though it was possible, he wasn’t sure that it was.

“Between the two of us, we might be able to lift him,” Drake wondered, “but the steps would be difficult.”

“Let’s just carry him between Tim and me,” Dr. Thompkins suggested, “I may be a doctor, but I do have to be able to defend myself from unruly patients.”

A few minutes later, Todd hung limply between Drake and the doctor. Pennyworth had made a makeshift sling to hold Todd’s leg in place from swinging too wildly and Damian held the IV equipment.

* * *

From what he gathered from Pennyworth, Drake, and Dr. Thompkins Todd had been incredibly lucky that they found him when they did. Damian couldn’t fight the feeling of relief, but three members of the family were still out of commission. Although father and Grayson were faring much better now that Todd was near them, the fact he was still in such a shaky condition had hindered their recovery some.

Damian flipped in his bed and huffed. Pennyworth had recommended that he start resting in his bed because the weekend would soon be over and school was still a requirement. He had been fine in Grayson’s room, and Grayson had enjoyed fawning over him. There was no problem other than Grayson’s clingy nature. Pennyworth had held his ground. He tossed and turned for fifteen more minutes before he decided that sleep was a lost cause, at least not while he was still hyperfocused on his injured family.

Quietly he dropped out of bed and pulled on a hoodie that was draped over his computer chair. Damian pushed the door open, half expecting Pennyworth to be doing his last rounds before he retired himself to bed. Luckily the hallways were clear, and Damian walked with more confidence towards the downstairs entrance to the cave. He paused when he passed Grayson’s room before he shook his head. Grayson was _fine,_ it was Todd who needed someone with him.

A nagging voice, which sounded like Drake, reminded him that he didn’t know that Todd wasn’t happier alone. Damian, like he would with Drake, ignored it. He slid down the pole and dropped to the ground soundlessly. The cave was empty. It was pure luck, or it was later in the morning than he thought it was.

Cautiously Damian made his way to the med bay, he checked that father or Drake weren’t in the room before he entered. Todd was asleep, deeply by the sounds of his soft snoring. Damian climbed onto the end of the bed before he noticed that Todd had awoken.

“You’re awake,” Damian said with a hint of embarrassment, he hadn’t thought Todd would wake up and catch him.

Todd blinked, “I am now.”

“The fever has broken then?” Damian tilted his head, he might as well go through with his plan.

Damian ran his eyes along Todd’s body. He noted that the leg bandages had been rewrapped and that Todd’s face had lost the flush from the fever. Todd looked away and towards the open spot at his side, Damian followed the gaze. When Todd raised an eyebrow at him he bit back the urge to scowl. He did not need to cuddle.

"I guess,” Todd shrugged, “was it as bad as Replacement was making it out to be?”

Damian mimicked the shrug, “Dr. Thompkins is of the opinion that if we had been any later in reaching you, you would have suffered severe damage of the leg or nervous system or perhaps death.”

Todd’s eyes widened, “how’d you even find out where I was?”

“Arsenal told us,” Damian replied, carefully he kept his voice neutral Todd didn’t need to know that they were tracking his best friend, “when we got in contact with your Outlaws to determine if you had reached out to them…”

"Why?” Todd asked quietly.

“They were the most likely to know-” Damian pursed his lips, he realized that Todd hadn’t meant literally. He considered his options of answers.

 “The others were concerned for you, considering the trauma your body had recently endured.” It wasn’t a lie, and he didn’t implicate himself.

Todd snickered but it devolved into a coughing fit. Damian glanced at the monitors still attached to the older male. There was no change in the vitals, so Damian let himself think it was nothing serious.

“And Father wanted to thank you for giving Oracle the clue that saved them,” he said to continue the conversation away from him and is _not_ caring.

“Really, he wanted to thank me?” Todd laughed, it sounded bitter.

Damian narrowed his eyes, “yes.”

He would never understand how Todd could be so blind to father’s affection. They argued, but so did father and Grayson and Grayson still knew father adored him. Damian dropped the train of thought, it was obviously something he would never be able to fix. Although it would be nice to not feel like by defending father he was alienating a brother.

Todd seemed to accept this, or at least be willing to ignore it for now, “he didn’t believe me when I told him.”

“That I… cannot explain and Father will not say,” Damian mumbled.

Drake and Gordon were the only other ones to know about what had happened to the fear toxin. Damian wondered why father had disregarded it so easily, it wasn’t as if Todd had been trying to kill them recently. He didn’t like that father didn’t trust them enough with that information.

“Let me guess, Alfred, kicked you out of Dick’s room?” Todd asked suddenly.

 “Pennyworth believed I would rest more fitfully in my own room,” Damian responded, it was an olive branch but he would take it.

Todd dropped his head against the bed, his eyes were closed. Damian knew he wasn’t asleep, no bat could fall asleep that easy. It was enough of an invitation and drop of defenses that Damian felt himself mirroring that action as the weight of the past few days crashed over him. The exhaustion was rapid and set deep into his bones.

“You could stay down here.”

Damian glanced up, unsure he had heard the words, but there was a specific tenseness to Todd that reassured him that they were spoken out loud. He scowled at himself for considering the idea but then gave into it just as quickly. It was a weakness, but he didn’t want to be alone. As it was at the clinic, the spot next to Todd felt safe and warm. A few minutes later Damian was asleep.

* * *

After that night, Damian wanted nothing more than to return to his spot. It was the years of discipline under Ra’s and his mother that kept himself from indulging again. He was uncertain of how he would handle it when Todd undoubtedly left again, whether it be his own choice or because father unintentionally pushed him away.

Not to mention, Todd was being given the clear by Dr. Thompkins today, so Damian was sure he wouldn’t be at the manor when he returned.

Regardless, Damian headed down the cave the moment he returned from school. Father would likely complain, but it technically wasn’t Robin duties so he wasn’t breaking the rule of “homework before vigilantism.” He hit the last step as Grayson left the med bay room. It was too late to hide as Grayson saw him.

“I know you have homework,” Grayson greeted.

Damian frowned, obviously Grayson was unhappy. Todd had likely said something, or they had argued. Grayson was less angry and more upset, so Damian determined it had been an argument.

“I do,” Damian conceded, “but I am not performing Robin duties.”

“Then why are you down here?” Grayson frowned.

“Must I explain?” Damian raised an eyebrow, he was sure that his recent… attachment to Todd hadn’t gone unnoticed.

“Jason?” Grayson asked, and then snorted, “might as well say goodbye, he isn’t staying, who knows the next time we’ll see him.”

Damian graciously ignored the fact Grayson revealed more than he probably should have. It was hard to imagine how badly losing Todd had affected their relationship, he knew that it apparently woke up Grayson’s more brotherly nature.

“Understood,” Damian settled on.

“Maybe you’ll convince him,” Grayson mumbled, “weird things keep happening, like Bruce admitting he was wrong.”  
That was _odd._ Damian made a note to investigate that claim later. He stepped out of the way of Grayson and returned to the task of visiting Todd.

Todd stared at the far wall, he was lost in thought if Damian had to guess, “Grayson is displeased with your choice.”

“ _Fucking_ hell _,_ Demon,” Todd jumped, “didn’t anyone ever tell you to make some noise?”

Damian raised an eyebrow, he smirked internally, “you should be more aware of your surroundings.”

Todd gave him a purposely blank stare, Damian was certain that it wasn’t out of defense, “shouldn’t you be at school?”

“We were released early today,” Damian responded, “and you are leaving today?”

“As soon as Roy gets off,” Todd responded.

He expected it, but it still stung. “Pennyworth would have taken you to whichever safehouse you wanted.”

Todd huffed, this time it sounded tired, “and have a swarm of bats outside of my window at all hours of the night, I’ll pass.”

Damian narrowed his eyes and took a step forward, “it would be wise for us to know where you are located.”

“Again, there’s a real lack of privacy that comes with that knowledge,” Jason replied, “besides I won’t be doing anything to warrant a visit.”

“Past experiences do not agree with that statement,” Damian glared. How could anyone be so careless with their lives? He thought his words might have indicated a change.

Todd stared at him and then bit his bottom lip. A strange look appeared on his face. Damian went on edge, unsure of what it meant. He didn’t sense a threat, but that was the danger of Todd, you never knew when the Pit was at the surface.  Todd was good enough that he could hear the whispers and not make it apparent he wasn’t entirely lucid at that moment.

“How about we make a deal?” Todd closed his eyes.

It didn’t lessen the sense of potential threat, but Damian was curious. This was more than any of the other members of the family were usually offered when Todd came back into their lives.

“What kind of deal?” Damian tilted his head.

“I’ll give you the location of my safehouse,” Jason said slowly.

Damian felt something in his chest warm. This was a show of trust beyond what his brothers usually received. He almost felt honored, but of course, he couldn’t let Todd know.

“But you have to swear that you’ll keep it secret from everyone else.”

“And what purpose would only me knowing the location serve?” Damian frowned, it was better than having to rely on Harper to know what was going on with his best friend. Todd had an unfortunate habit of dropping off the map at a second’s notice.

Jason smirked, “you’ll know where I am, which means if you’re as well-trained as you like to think I won’t notice you checking in on me.”

Damian’s eyes widened, but then he controlled himself to not show his eagerness, “agreed.”

Instead, Damian stuck out his hand and felt relief when Todd took it. They might not get along but this was a start.

**Author's Note:**

> As always leave your thoughts in the comments below, just. Don't comment on the waffle ice packs. With that, I think this series is done! If you like my writing and don't completely hate my characterization, check out my other Batman works! I have a few in progress Batfamily works and a Jason Todd bday week series! Thanks again!


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